About Us
ImmuneSensor Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company led by a team of experienced biotech executives who are committed to creating novel treatments that harness the body’s innate immune system to treat a wide range of diseases. Leveraging the extensive versatility and therapeutic potential of the cGAS-STING pathway, we are focused on discovering and developing novel medicines that address inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, along with cancers. Our growing pipeline includes cGAS inhibitors, which work to suppress inflammation and autoimmunity as well as STING agonists, designed to elicit anticancer immunity.
Our History
Pioneers of cGAS/cGAMP
ImmuneSensor was founded in 2014 based on the seminal research conducted in the laboratory of Dr. Zhijian “James” Chen's at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. In 2012, his groundbreaking discovery of the cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) enzyme and its secondary messenger, cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP), quickly spawned the scientific community's interest and subsequent research into the role of the cGAS-STING pathway in innate immunity through recognizing dsDNA in the cytosol. The importance of the pathway in activating the immune system and its broad applicability in many diseases is now widely recognized and has catalyzed intense drug development in Biopharma.
Since our Company's founding in 2014 and in-licensing intellectual property from UTSW, our team has built a promising pipeline of cGAS inhibitors and STING agonists with first- and best-in-class potential.
Company Milestones
Our Facility
Our headquarters and lab facilities are based in Dallas, Texas, a short distance from the world-renowned UTSW medical center. ImmuneSensor’s team of passionate and highly talented scientists and biotech professionals is proud to collaborate alongside global researchers and investigators, clinical trial facilities, corporate partners and contract research organizations.
Leadership Team
President and Chief Executive Officer
Board Chairman and Co-Founder
VP, Research & Development
VP, Clinical Operations & Head of Project Management
VP, Finance
Director of Chemistry
VP, Regulatory
Acting Chief Medical Officer
Thomas W. Dubensky, Jr., Ph.D.
President and Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Tom Dubensky is a veteran biopharma executive and entrepreneur. He has significant expertise in the discovery, development and translation of novel small molecule-, biologic- and vector-based therapies, being part of teams having advanced numerous first-in-human drug candidates. Most recently, Dr. Dubensky was the founding CEO of Tempest Therapeutics, joining the company in 2017. Earlier in his career, he held roles leading discovery biology, development and clinical translation in cancer immunotherapy and infectious disease indications at multiple biotech companies, including, Viagene, Chiron, Onyx, Cerus Immune Design, Aduro and Tempest. He led the advancement of the first-in-human STING agonists while at Aduro. He has an extensive publication and patent record including work on the biology and the development of small molecule drugs targeting the cGAS-STING signaling pathway in cancer and immunity. Dr. Dubensky received his BA in Bacteriology and Immunology from the University of California, Berkeley, his PhD at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, conducted his post-doctoral studies at Harvard Medical School in the Department of Pathology and received executive training at the University of California, San Diego, Executive Program for Scientists and Engineers.
Jet Li
Board Chairman and Co-Founder
Jet Li co-founded ImmuneSensor in 2014 and is currently the Chairman of the Company’s Board of Directors. He previously worked in sales for SinoChem, one of the largest oil and energy service providers in China. Mr. Li is actively involved in community service and has served on the board of trustees of the Greenhill School in Addison, Texas. Mr. Li received a bachelor’s degree in International Business from Guangdong University of Foreign Studies and an M.B.A and Master’s degree in Information Systems from the University of Texas at Arlington.
Lijun ‘Josh’ Sun, Ph.D.
VP, Research & Development
Dr. Lijun Sun is an established scholar in innate immunity and an experienced translational research expert in cancer immunotherapy. As an associate professor at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dr. Sun made significant contributions to the understanding of the RIG-I-MAVS and cGAS-STING innate signaling pathways. He has authored nearly thirty high-profile publications in top scientific journals including Nature and Science, resulting in more than 18,000 citations. Notably, he co-discovered cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP) and its synthase cGAS, which was a major breakthrough in the field of immunology and laid the scientific foundation for ImmuneSensor’s intellectual property portfolio and therapeutic pipeline. His early translational research led to the founding of ImmuneSensor Therapeutics, and he played a major role in driving IMSA101 into clinical development. Dr. Sun continues to be a major scientific driver of ImmuneSensor’s research and development programs. He is a leading inventor of numerous patents and patent applications at ImmuneSensor.
Teresa Mooneyham
VP, Clinical Operations & Head of Project Management
Teresa Mooneyham joined ImmuneSensor in 2018 and serves as Vice President of Project Management and Clinical Operations. She has extensive experience in the healthcare and life science industries, with over 40 years in nursing, which includes over 30 years in clinical research. Prior to joining ImmuneSensor, Ms. Mooneyham served as Director of Project Management at Sarah Cannon Development Innovations. Previously, she served as Senior Director of Project Management at Chiltern (formerly Ockham Oncology/Nexus Oncology). Throughout her career, she has served in various roles within clinical operations and project management including Research Nurse, Clinical Research Associate (CRA), Clinical Manager, Project Manager/Director, Senior Director of Project Management and Director of Clinical Operations. Ms. Mooneyham has also been responsible for department oversight within project management and has served as a trainer and mentor to employees in project management and clinical operations. Additionally, she has supported efforts in the filing of two oncology NDAs.
Heather Stokes, MS, MBA
VP, Finance
Heather Stokes joins ImmuneSensor Therapeutics as Vice President of Finance in 2023, bringing her over 27 years of experience working with both private and publicly traded companies. In the last thirteen years, Ms. Stokes has worked solely in the life sciences industry. Prior to joining ImmuneSensor, Ms. Stokes worked as an independent financial and accounting consultant for multiple biotechnology companies, acting as a CFO, Comptroller, and Controller. Prior to her consulting work at various early and growth stage biotechnology companies, she served as Vice President of Finance at JeNu BioSciences and also as lead financial analyst at YM Biosciences during its acquisition by Gilead for $500+ million. As an experienced accounting and finance professional, she has been an integral team member in numerous successful M&A and IPO transactions. Ms. Stokes holds a MS in Accounting and MBA from the University of Colorado.
Jian Qiu, Ph.D.
Director of Chemistry
Dr. Jian Qiu has more than 20 years of experience in drug discovery and pharmaceutical development including managing contract research and manufacturing organizations around the world. Before joining ImmuneSensor Therapeutics, Dr. Qiu was involved in anti-inflammatory drug discovery programs and CMC projects at Nivalis Therapeutics (formerly known as N30 Pharma). Prior to Nivalis, he managed chemistry and CMC projects for an anti-bacterial program at Replidyne Inc. His other scientific research experiences include time at Dharmacon and Invenux. Dr. Qiu received his B.S. and M.S. in organic chemistry from Nankai University in China and his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Cambridge University. He is a named inventor on 27 patents and patent applications and has authored numerous publications.
Betty Lawrence
VP, Regulatory
Betty Lawrence has 25+ years in the biotechnology industry, with extensive experience in all phases of development programs. She has managed and implemented all aspects of development functions (including clinical research, regulatory affairs, preclinical toxicology and manufacturing) for numerous molecules and therapeutic areas including oncology, CNS diseases, endocrinology, analgesia, and diagnostic imaging. She has also played an active role in various business development and partnering activities. Betty was most recently the Vice President of Development at Angiochem Inc. in addition to providing consulting services to biotechnology clients. She has also held various scientific positions at ConjuChem Biotechnologies, Resolution Pharmaceuticals and Health Canada. Betty received her B.Sc. with Honors in Biology and Pharmacology from McMaster University.
Edward Garmey, M.D.
Acting Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Edward Garmey is a former academic hematologist-oncologist and has served as Chief Medical Officer for several private and public biopharmaceutical companies during his 15 years in the industry. Dr. Garmey served as Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President at Cerulean Pharma, where he oversaw the initiation of multi-national clinical trials for multiple drug programs and helped lead the company’s successful $67 MM IPO. Previously, Dr. Garmey served as a pediatric hematologist-oncologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). He is an alumnus of Harvard and New York University and completed his medical training at New York’s Mount Sinai Medical Center, the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles and MSKCC. Dr. Garmey completed additional research fellowships at the National Institutes of Health and the Botswana-Harvard Partnership for H.I.V. Research in Gaborone, Botswana and is the recipient of the young investigators awards from the American Society of Hematology and the American Heart Association. Dr. Garmey currently resides in the Boston area, where he serves as an adjunct instructor at Harvard Medical School’s Graduate Program in Therapeutic Science and as a member of the Board of Overseers at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.